Blockchain is more than bitcoin – it has unlimited potential to transform society

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Paul Worrall

Paul is the founder of digital wallet Zonafide

Blockchain has huge potential to change the world (Source: Getty)

Paul Worrall

The popularity of crypto assets, such as bitcoin, in recent months has drawn attention to the technology that sits behind them - blockchain.

Blockchain is a distributed ledger that records transactions between two parties in a verifiable and permanent way. Blockchain’s main advantage is that it’s decentralised, and therefore avoids the inflexibility and inefficiency of older, centralised systems.

However, the blockchain network is also universally accessible – no single person controls it and everyone is able to access it securely. Blockchain is also adaptable and it can be used in many situations in which two parties require integrity in a transaction.

The recent popularity of crypto assets has made blockchain and bitcoin synonymous. Therefore, many wrongly associate the concerns about them, such as fraud and criminal activity, with blockchain.

Whereas in reality, blockchain can actually reduce this type of fraud because blockchain-based transactions are completely public – so the potential to automate controls to minimise criminal activity is enormous.

Many people do not realise that blockchain has unlimited potential to completely transform society.

At the moment, blockchain is restricted to where its use is proportional to the need, but as the technology evolves it will scale and expand across multiple applications.

At Zonafide, we’re applying blockchain technology to solve the problem of cybercrime. We developed a digital wallet that allows users to secure Activities and take back control of their personal information. An Activity is something important you’re doing, such as a house purchase payment or changing credit limits with a bank.

Although there are a number of similar, but not identical propositions, we’re applying our digital wallet to the life events sector to verify marriages and bereavements. We recently partnered with Atos to assist their clients in the use of our blockchain-based technology to drive efficiencies and improve security when processing life events.

Our application of blockchain technology to the life events sector is just one of many examples that demonstrates the ever-increasing use of this technology in society.